American Public Education, Inc. Unveils AI-Powered Student Lifecycle Platform being Built with Salesforce

The AI-powered platform will unify American Public University System's student journey with personalized support, proactive advising, and connected services.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI) yesterday announced it is building an AI-powered Student Lifecycle Platform (SLP) using Salesforce for its American Public University System (the "System") to transform how current and prospective students and alumni engage throughout their educational journey.

This innovation builds on APEI's broader AI strategy and its ongoing work to modernize the student experience across the System, which includes American Military University, American Public University, Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing.

Built on the next generation student information system (SIS) from Salesforce, along with Data 360 and Agentforce, the new platform enables a unified view of every student – with AI agents working around the clock to support staff and students. The SLP will streamline admissions and transfer credit, deliver personalized, proactive support throughout the student experience, and deepen alumni engagement -- all grounded in the Salesforce Trust Layer, which provides built-in guardrails like data masking, zero-data retention, and toxicity detection to protect student data as AI scales. Together, these capabilities will help the System better align education with career outcomes while delivering a connected experience across every stage of the student journey.

"Our vision has always been to expand access to high-quality education that transforms lives, advances careers and improves communities," said Angela Selden, President and Chief Executive Officer of APEI and Chancellor of the American Public University System. "This collaboration advances that vision by creating an experience that is simpler, more personal and more responsive to every learner's unique journey."

By leveraging Salesforce's proprietary AI capabilities, open APIs, and a flexible architecture to rapidly develop new student experiences that evolve with learner needs, the Student Lifecycle Platform will unify admissions, financial aid, advising, tutoring and career services into one connected experience, reducing complexity for students, and increasing operational efficiencies.

"We're building more than a technology platform," said James Kenigsberg, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of APEI and the American Public University System. "We're building academic units that sense what learners need, adapt to where they are and remove unnecessary friction before it becomes a barrier. Salesforce will provide the foundation, while our AI-native architecture will allow us to continuously innovate and create experiences uniquely designed for our students."

"Students expect the same personalized, connected experiences in their academic journey that they get everywhere else in their lives," said Margo Martinez, VP & GM, Education, Salesforce. "APEI is reimagining what's possible by putting AI at the center—empowering students while freeing up staff to spend less time on manual work and more time helping students succeed. When technology anticipates a student's needs, removes barriers before they arise, and supports students from enrollment through their careers, education becomes a lifelong relationship. That's the future APEI is building with Salesforce."

The rollout is expected to begin with the Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing academic units starting in Q1 2027, leading with student support and admissions and expanding to other areas across academic operations and the student journey. We anticipate the completion of the rollout across the System's four academic units to continue through 2027 and into the first half of 2028.

About American Public Education
American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI), through American Public University System (the "System") empowers students through education to transform lives, advance careers, and serve their communities locally and globally. With approximately 109,000 students and over 250,000¹ alumni worldwide, the System includes four academic units: American Military University (AMU), American Public University (APU), Rasmussen University (RU), and Hondros College of Nursing (HCN). The System is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The System is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI).

¹As of March 31, 2026.

The System, including AMU, APU, RU, and HCN, is not affiliated with the U.S. Military.

Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release regarding American Public Education, Inc. or its subsidiary institution ("APEI") that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about APEI and the industry. We may use words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "will," or "may," or other words or expressions that convey future events, conditions, circumstances, or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the development and implementation, timing of implementation, capabilities and benefits of the AI-powered Student Lifecycle Platform, including any expected benefits to APEI and the System and prospective students, learners and alumni.

Forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to: APEI's dependence on and the need to continue to invest in its technology infrastructure, including with respect to third-party vendors, including but not limited to the collaboration with Salesforce and the proposed AI-powered Student Lifecycle Platform; our ability to improve our student's experience and outcomes; and the various risks described in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in APEI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in other filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. APEI undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, unless required by law, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

Media Contact:
Meg Sheeley
[email protected]

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SOURCE APEI